Jennifer Custer leads in Far Northwest Side District 1 Chicago School Board race
Nov 05, 2024
View real-time results on the 2024 general election from the AP. Follow our live coverage for context, reactions, and analysis throughout the day.
Stay-at-home mom and former educator Jennifer Custer held a slim lead over veteran educator Michelle N. Pierre in the race to represent District 1 on the elected school board with nearly all precincts reporting, according to results from the Associated Press.Custer, a former assistant principal and suburban union leader was endorsed by the Chicago Teachers Union, which strongly supports a neighborhood school focus.But Custer said she will equally invest in neighborhood schools and charter schools, though she opposes expanding the charter school system.Pierre, her opponent, received financial backing from the Illinois Network of Charter Schools. But she and Custer ran on similar platforms. Custer could not be reached Tuesday night.Both told WBEZ they supported having sworn Chicago Police officers stationed in schools. They were united in their opposition to the current board’s move away from the school choice system. And both candidates said they were fans of Chicago Public Schools CEO Pedro Martinez and that they wanted him to stay on despite Mayor Brandon Johnson’s efforts to oust him.In addition, both Custer and Pierre were opposed to short-term borrowing to cover CPS operating costs.Their key difference lay in their stance on raising the property tax levy to the maximum allowed by state law each year. The levy is how much revenue CPS wants to raise through property taxes. CPS each year can raise the levy by 5% or the Consumer Price Index, whichever is less. This year that rate was 3.4%. Custer supported raising the levy, while Pierre did not.Custer’s campaign promises include building up bilingual programs across CPS and hiring more bilingual teachers to meet the needs of the Latino children who make up 53% of District 1. Maintaining school buildings across the CPS system is also high on Custer’s list of priorities.
Chicago School Board Race ResultsDistrict 1 - Far Northwest Side District 2 - North Side District 3 - Near Northwest Side District 4 - North Side District 5 - West Side District 6 - Loop, South Side District 7 - Southwest Side District 8 - South and Southwest Side District 9 - South Side and Southeast Side District 10 - South Side
This Far Northwest Side district encompasses Portage Park, O’Hare, Dunning, Jefferson Park, Norwood Park and Edison Park. It includes 43 schools — six rated by the state as exemplary and one as needing “intensive support.” Of the 274,000 residents in District 1, 55% are white, 32% Hispanic, 9% Asian and about 3% Black. The students attending the schools are 53% Hispanic, 32% white, 7% Asian and 4% Black — and about 55% are considered low-income.